David Seeley // Contributing Writer
If you’re feeling a little bored with all the superhero movies, sequels that should have never been made and overall unoriginality coming out of Hollywood these days, you can find solace and experience something different with “Love,” the new film by Argentine filmmaker Gaspar Noe.
This boundary pushing director has divided critics as well as movie fans with his graphic depictions of violence and sex throughout his filmmaking career.
His first film “I Stand Alone” deals with incest as its main subject matter. His next film “Irreversible” is a complex mystery thriller that contains a nearly 10 minute long rape scene.Noe followed this up in 2009 with “Enter the Void,” a story about a brother and sister living in Tokyo who are involved in a psychedelic mix of drugs, sex and violence.
His newest film “Love” is a 3D extravaganza filled with an almost pornographic level of sexually explicit content, which includes full frontal male nudity, threesomes and realistic portrayal of sexual intercourse.
Filmed on location in Paris using non professional actors, “Love” tells the story of Murphy, an American studying abroad in Paris who meets and falls in love with Elektra, a French girl who fulfills every one of Murphy’s sick and twisted fantasies.
This part of their life is shown through flashbacks while present day Murphy is at home with his current wife and child reflecting on his time with Elektra after her mother calls him, worried that she hasn’t spoken to her in over three months. Throughout its 2 hour and 15 minute run time we see the ups and downs of Murphy and Elektra’s modern day relationship set against the beautiful, as well as seedy underground streets of Paris.
The 3D cameras that Noe used to capture the action are meant to bring you into the bedroom so to speak, right there with Murphy and his many different partners throughout the course of the film. The technology feels fresh in this aspect, instead of using the 3D for massive stunts or computer generated effects, Noe embraces the technology and provides a much more personal and intimate use of it.
The story does start to meander in the second half of the film and the constant explicit content may leave the audience feeling exhausted, and but the way Noe blends the right music with the perfect imagery and the curiosity of what happens to Murphy and Elektra are enough to keep the audience involved all the way to the end.
Some may say that “Love” is just pornography dressed up as an art film, but Noe provides us with realistic sexual experiences without going too far. When you watch this movie you know it’s not porn but you also know that it’s unlike anything you’ve seen before.
The blend of artistic expression and its guerrilla style cinematography in “Love” make it the perfect addition to Gaspar Noe’s already eclectic filmography. You may leave this film feeling disgusted, or you may walk out of the film feeling invigorated, but you will feel something.
After all, this is the goal of a director like Gaspar Noe; to get people thinking and talking about everyday subject matter that most of the time gets pushed to the side and ignored. Going against the norm and further evolving the art of film making are all staples of Noe’s films and I guarantee whatever he does next will continue to surprise, confuse, and astound us.
Gaspar Noe’s “Love” in 3D, rated R, is now playing through Dec. 9 at Miami Beach Cinematheque. For ticket information go to www.mbcinema.com
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